This summer marks the fiftieth
anniversary of the Apollo
11 moon landing, believed by
many to be the most momentous technological
achievement in human history.
As this anniversary approaches,
we read different retrospectives almost
every place we turn. As an astronaut
who once piloted Space Shuttle Atlantis and later served as the commander of
the International Space Station, I appreciate
the opportunity to share a few
thoughts from my own perspective.
This anniversary reminds me of
another space flight—now all but forgotten
by most—which occurred on
Christmas Eve a few months before
the first moon landing. Three men in a
small capsule became the first humans
to leave the vicinity of earth and swing
around the moon. Today, their flight
is perhaps best known for the Earthrise photo taken by astronaut William
Anders as the blue earth rose above the
lunar landscape.
Astronaut William
Anders (Apollo 8)
snapped this
famous photo as
the earth rose
above the lunar
landscape in 1968.
As the crew circled the moon, a mere
50 miles above its surface, they took
turns reading the Genesis creation
account found in God’s Word. Approximately
one billion people listened to
what proved to be the most watched
broadcast in history up to that time.
What do these events teach us about
humanity’s quest for truth and the
search to understand our place in the
universe? As someone who believes
the biblical account of creation as
recorded by the only entity there to
witness it—God himself—my answer
might surprise you.
Finding the Truth
I’ve had the privilege few ever experience.
To date, I’ve spent not just a few
hours or a week in space, but 178 days.
I lived there (most of the time on the
space station) and had the opportunity
to experience space. I’m often asked
what perspective this gave me. Did I
have a spiritual experience, a moment
of enlightenment that freed me from
the constraints of our planet?
I can say without question that one
cannot help but be filled with awe at the
beauty, majesty, and utter wonder of
God’s magnificent creation while zipping
around the planet 16 times a day
at 17,500 mph. One of the most memorable
experiences is the kaleidoscope
of vivid colors that encircle the globe.
It’s hard to put into words what one
actually sees and experiences because
our eyes detect light differently than
can be recorded by cameras.
The world’s oceans are the bluest
of blues, contrasted against the rich
browns of the deserts and plush greens
of the forests. Meanwhile, the black ink
of the night sky forms a perfect backdrop,
dotted with literally trillions of
bright stars of every color—from blue
and yellow to orange and red—unobscured
by the dust and water vapor in
the atmosphere.
Often the space station passed
through the glowing green lights of the
aurora borealis (southern polar lights).
This otherworldly display perpetually
reminds us that God designed a magnetic
blanket to protect life on earth
from the dangerous radiation that is
continuously streaming our way from
the sun.
My ultimate perspective, however,
was always clear. I did not need to go to
space to find the Creator of heaven and
earth. As the Apostle Paul said 2,000
years ago, we can see evidence of the
Creator everywhere (Romans 1:20),
not just in space. More importantly,
there’s only one place where absolute
truth resides. Everything I need to
know about my Lord and Creator is
found in the pages of Scripture. And it
is available to all who will believe.
The message of God’s Word from
Genesis to Revelation is clear: God created
all men and women in his image,
but following Adam’s rebellion, we are
wretched sinners, in need of a Savior
whom we can know only by his grace.
God has provided redemption through
the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ, so
that those who are redeemed can honor,
worship, and glorify him for all eternity.
Redemption Begins in Genesis
Commander
Barry Wilmore is
a veteran of two
spaceflights and
has accumulated
178 days in space.
Many think God’s message of
redemption begins in the New Testament,
starting with Matthew 1:1 as the
story of Jesus’ birth unfolds. However, it
really begins with Moses’ words in Genesis
1: “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
You don’t get past the first phrase in
the first verse of the first book of the
Bible before being presented with a
choice: Will you believe God’s Word?
This remarkable decision faces us page
after page. If we don’t believe the first
phrase of the first book of the Bible, at
what point do the words in this book
become true?
Will we believe God’s Word when it
says, “So the evening and the morning
were the first day. . . . So the evening and
the morning were the second day. . . . So
the evening and the morning were the
third . . . fourth . . . fifth . . . sixth day”?
(Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31, NKJV).
Or when the Bible says, “Then God
said, ‘Let us make man in our image’”
(Genesis 1:26)?
Or how about when the Apostle
Peter tells us, “For they deliberately
overlook this fact, that the heavens
existed long ago, and the earth was
formed out of water and through water
by the word of God” (2 Peter 3:5)?
Scripture is clear that the creation
of all things was a supernatural event,
completed by an almighty, powerful,
creative, and loving God. Additionally,
Scripture makes it absolutely clear
that God created in six literal 24-hour
days; the Lord even wove it into the
Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:11).
Most people in the world today
would say that such a thing is impossible.
So I ask, “How about Jesus? What
did he think about this literal six-day
creation?” He told the Pharisees, “If
you believed Moses [or the Scriptures],
you would believe me; for he wrote of
me. But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
(John 5:46–47). Basically Christ was
saying that Scripture itself, beginning
with Moses (who penned the creation
account in Genesis), “accuses” us if we
won’t believe.
Many will respond, “Science disproves
the Bible.” But this response
comes from widespread confusion
about science. The study of origins
isn’t the same as experimental science,
which sends people to the moon
or enables them to live half a year on
a space station. No experimental science
contradicts the Bible. The study
of origins, on the other hand, depends
on hypotheses, theories, or assumptions
that can’t be tested.
The creation was a monumental miracle
like none other ever performed,
and was completed by a holy, righteous,
and infinite God. It thus cannot
be proved or disproved by any theoretical
scientific methods. Therefore,
we must believe this by faith, just as
God’s Word tells us in Hebrews 11:3. We
weren’t there; no one was there except
God, who gave us an infallible record of
his deeds in Genesis 1.
As we continue reading God’s Word,
we come across endless other miracles
that challenge us. If we can’t believe
the truths of creation, then how about
these other miracles in God’s Word? Other than Christ, Scripture records
eight individuals who were raised
from the dead. Can these miracles possibly
be believed?
Jesus summarized our part in understanding
our place in the universe: “I
am the resurrection and the life. Whoever
believes in me, though he die, yet
shall he live’” (John 11:25). This blessed
gospel begins with creation in Genesis 1
and continues to the climax in Revelation
when God fulfills his promise to
make a new heaven and earth, where
he will dwell with his people forever.
You won’t find that message in space,
but in God’s Word. Will you believe?
served 30 years on active duty. He spent the final half of his
naval career as a NASA astronaut where he remains as an
active civilian astronaut. In 2014 he commanded the space
station and performed four spacewalks.
A Creation Astronomer Looks Back on the Moon Landing
by Dr. Danny R. Faulkner
Dr. Danny
Faulkner in
the Creation
Museum’s
Johnson
Observatory.
In 1969, I was a rising high school sophomore when Neil
Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and declared,
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
That July evening, I was glued to the television. Frequently
I stepped outside and looked at the moon to marvel that an
astronaut (Michael Collins) was orbiting that remote sphere
while two others were walking on its surface.
The moon was nearly at first quarter phase, a good time for
viewing with my small 40-mm refracting telescope. Of course,
I couldn’t see any spacecraft or astronauts, but it was fun locating
the general area where they were leaving their footprints.
Back then there were only three networks, ABC, CBS, and
NBC, all of which preempted normal programming to carry
the events leading up to the Apollo 11 landing. Other members of my family
had grown tired of the endless coverage
and went to bed early, miffed to miss
a rerun of Bonanza. Incidentally, they
missed Armstrong step on the moon
at nearly 11:00 p.m. (EDT).
Charting a Course for the Future
I had a passion for astronomy since
I was four, but events surrounding the
moon landing intensified the interest
and led me to confirm my calling—to be
an astronomer.
After I earned my PhD, I taught at the
University of South Carolina Lancaster,
where I stayed for more than a quarter
century, encouraging thousands of
students to share my love for the stars.
Six years ago, I became the astronomer at
Answers in Genesis and have loved interacting
with enthusiastic crowds at the
planetarium and observatory. Not only
do I share my thoughts on how astronomy
relates to creation, but I even get to
continue publishing astronomy research.
Looking Up—And Back
If the sky is clear this year, I’ll spend
a little more time than usual looking up
at the moon. I may even use my little
40-mm refracting telescope that I used
50 years ago. (Yes, I still have it.) It isn’t
the top-of-the-line Questar telescope
in the Creation Museum observatory.
But looking through that little telescope
makes me feel like a kid again on that
July evening. Each time I look into the
heavens I wonder at God’s handiwork.
after more than 26 years as professor of physics and
astronomy at the University of South Carolina Lancaster.
SourceThis article originally appeared on answersingenesis.org
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